


Wine and Cocoa Don't Mix

by Anonymous



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguments, But like also not completely innocent, Deceit Sanders Acting Terrible, Deceit saltier than the bottom of the ocean Sanders, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, He can be so mean guys, I think he is somewhat sympathetic anyways, Morality | Patton Sanders Tries, Morality | Patton Sanders is a Sweetheart, Morally Neutral Deceit Sanders, Post-Episode: Dealing with INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS, Sympathetic Deceit Sanders, but like he also needs a hug, i think it's happy, or optimistic at least, sides as family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-21
Updated: 2019-08-21
Packaged: 2020-09-23 06:07:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20335345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: The night after Remus' first appearance Deceit finally has a moment of peace to hear himself think. Too bad Patton has other plans.





	Wine and Cocoa Don't Mix

**Author's Note:**

> Mild warning for some curse words, but nothing too bad. Also arguments. Arguments are fun to write.

Deceit sips lazily on his glass before giving it a slight tug. He lets the liquid settle and the wine legs mark the curved surface. This is what it has come down to. Sitting alone in the dark while everyone sleeps. What a merry picture. Classy and elegant. Not pathetic at all. Then again he doesn’t exactly miss the company from a few hours ago.

Remus had finally bid him good _ nightmares _ and gone to bed. Early for once. He had also, of course, given Deceit a full account of the events of the day. How much fun he’d had during the video, and how now he’d be able to pop up during mornings just to freak Thomas out. _ Start the day with a bang. _ He also thanked Deceit for finally making it happen.

All of this is fine. This is what Deceit had planned. This is what they’d all wanted. What _Thomas_ wanted. Honesty.

Deceit cringes and serves himself another glass. He drowns it in seconds. This must be a new record. He’s halfway through his second bottle and it’s barely three AM. Maybe he should just quit while he’s ahead. 

Screw it, he’s come this far. He takes a swing directly from the bottle.

“If you keep that up, you’re going to have one heck of a hangover in the morning.”

Deceit almost chokes then puts the bottle down. “That ship has sailed. What do you want?”

Patton goes directly to the fridge and grabs some milk and cocoa powder from one of the top shelves. “Hot cocoa.”

Deceit snorts as Patton gets to work. “Figures.” The one night Intrusive thoughts takes a break and Deceit can finally hear himself think, Morality drops by. Screw his good luck. He goes for another swing of the bottle, only to have it ripped from his fingers.

“Give that back!” he all but hisses.

Morality gives him a stern look and places a warm mug in front of him. “I think you’ve had enough.”

Deceit sneers at him but the scent of hot cocoa reaches his nostrils and temptation wins. “So, you’re telling us what to drink too now? Fantastic.” He takes a sip of his cocoa. “It’s been my lifelong dream to live up to your perfect standards, Morality.”

“You’re drunk,” Patton points out uselessly, before dropping on the chair in front of him. There’s not even a hint of the fake kindness behind his words. Morality’s never treated Deceit with the same amount of patience or semblance of understanding, like he did with Virgil when he was part of the Darks. While Patton had recognized Anxiety as a necessary ‘evil’, Deceit had always been a thorn in Thomas’ side. Always opposing him. Always misleading. 

“And you care because...” Deceit says waving a hand.

“I have to,” Patton replies without missing a beat and immediately winces. 

Deceit’s eyebrows shoot up. It has never occurred to him that Patton resents that small part of who he is, the one that gives him no choice _ but _to care. 

Patton shakes his head as if to compose himself, his tone is a little less sharp this time around. “Because it’s a self destructive habit, and you should be in bed, mister.”

“Don’t patronize me,” Deceit bites back. “At least give me the courtesy of that high moral ground honesty you pride yourself of having.”

Patton looks taken aback for a moment. Deceit hates how with one sad stare, Morality can make the rest of them feel like they’ve kicked ten puppies. After a moment, the hurt mask is gone and Patton slowly nods. “I was meaning to talk to you anyways.”

“Were you? I never would’ve fathomed. Please, continue. I’m on the edge of my seat.” He takes another sip and swallows a satisfied sigh. Damn, the moron does make a good cup of cocoa.

Patton cuts straight to the chase. “Why did you do it?”

Deceit raises an eyebrow. “You’re going to have to be a little bit more specific.”

“Remus,” says Patton and Deceit’s grip on his mug tightens. “You knew what he’d do to Thomas. You knew he'd try something funny on Roman. You knew he’d do something that’d lead Virgil to say —stuff he wasn’t ready to say and— what you did was not right,” he finishes bluntly.

Deceit snorts. No. Scratch that, he full on laughs. “And you know everything there is to know about what’s right, don’t you? How funny it is, that you only approve of lies of omission when they suit your agenda.”

“I never said that,” says Patton. 

“Oh, now who’s the liar?” says Deceit. 

“It wasn’t my secret to tell,” Patton argues, cheeks reddening.

“You’re right, it wasn’t. It was Virgil’s choice and he made it,” Deceit says. “I didn’t put a gun to his head and forced it out of him.”

“You might as well have.” Patton’s voice rises. “You and Remus with your hints and word games drove Virgil to–!” He stops himself, massaging the bridge of his nose with a sigh.

“No,” Deceit says leaning forwards. “Finish that sentence. I’m sure you’re eager to get it out of your system, Morality.”

“I didn’t come here to fight,” says Patton with a tired tone.

“You didn’t?” Deceit says, eyebrows creasing in innocence. “Oh, my bad then, I must've imagined you guilt tripping me about something that happened when I wasn’t even in the room. You know, if you want to blame someone for the truth coming out, you might have to reconsider placing that blame on the guy you know as Deceit. Try a mirror. Lying is wrong, haven’t you heard?”

“I just wanted for you to reflect on your actions. What you do comes with consequences, Deceit. And this time they hurt people.” 

“You want me to think about what I did. Of course. Thank you for that, Morality. I’m a changed Side. After all, I’m sure I would’ve never reached that conclusion on my own. What_ ever _ would I do without you to guide me?”

“I’m being serious, kidd – Deceit,” says Patton. “If you wanted to be listened to, to teach us all a lesson, well that’s all right and dandy, but there are other ways. Sending Intrusive Thoughts–”

“Let me stop you right there,” Deceit says, “I do not send anyone anywhere, I simply gave Remus free rein to be himself. See, unlike you, I don’t wish to control everything and everyone to my every little whim.”

“There were other ways to get your point across,” Patton says in a small voice. He has the nerve, the guts to look on the verge of tears. “There was no need to put others in the line of fire, just because you’re upset.”

“Because you always listen to what I have to say.”

“We did try to listen, the trial proves that–”

“You did not!” Deceit slams his hand against the table. “And even if you did, even if you realized I was _ right _ , you still pushed your say over everyone else's. Your influence on Roman made him choose what makes Thomas look good instead of what’s actually best for him. After that, it was only a matter of time for Intrusive Thoughts to show up. Because of _ your _ decision. So don’t you come here and blame me for not holding Remus back like _ you _wanted. You can’t have it both ways, Morality.”

“Thomas always has the final say in what he does, Deceit. You know that. Roman may have given the verdict, but he’s a part of Thomas just like you and I. It’s what Thomas decided to do. But that’s not what’s bothering you. Not anymore.”

“Who says I’m bothered by anything?" Deceit leans back on his seat, raising his hands. "I was having the time of my life, celebrating my victory, before you decided to show up and spoil it.”

“Your victory?”

“Yes,” Deceit snaps. “Thomas realizes he’s a liar and to counterbalance now he also knows how twisted his mind can get. In fact, truths are coming all around! You must be happy about that. I know I am. Virgil finally coming out of the figurative dark side closet. Good for him. All in all, it was a very productive and enlightening evening.” He takes another gulp of cocoa not caring how it burnt his throat.

“You know, I don’t think you’re happy with any of that.”

“Please, continue to tell me how I feel. It’s most informative.”

Patton completely ignores the implied insult. “You’re hurting," he says softly. "You’re upset about what happened to Thomas – and Virgil. That’s completely fine, Deceit. There’s no shame in feeling regret. It means your heart’s in the right place.”

“You know, it must get cold all the way up on that high pedestal where you live. I’m sure it absolves you from all responsibility,” Deceit says with a snarl. “Do you enjoy the view from all the way up there? We must all look like ants to you. After all, you’re the most important part of Thomas’ personality. The _ only _ one he should _ always _listen to. The rest of us, who cares? We’re just part of the decor.”

Patton just stares back. “You don’t have to do that. You don’t have to inflict pain to hide your own, kiddo.”

“Don’t call me that,” Deceit snaps between clenched teeth. “I’m not your little pet project like Anxiety. You’re not going to turn me into one of your well behaved _ puppets_.”

“You’re right,” Patton says and Deceit freezes for a moment, staring back at Morality. He's shaking. “You’re right, okay? I _ do _ want everything to go my way, I _do_ have high standards, and they hurt Thomas. They also hurt Virgil. They hurt _everyone_." He takes his glasses off wiping his eyes before continuing. "But I’m trying to get better. I never meant to hurt you or anyone else. But I also know you didn’t mean to hurt us either.”

“You don’t know anything about me.” It feels like he's going to shatter his mug if he doesn't let go.

“You’re self preservation. You’ve always wanted to help Thomas in your own way. You made the wrong call. I did too. It happens. It’s _ okay _,” says Patton, reaching out to take Deceit’s gloved hand but Deceit pulls away. “You don’t need to hide your less than awesome feelings, it’s not healthy.” 

“You know, that’s the problem with you, Cores," he hisses to his cocoa then glances up. He might as well have slapped Patton. "You’re so caught up in your little bubbles that you start believing everyone thinks like you do. Well, _ we don’t _ . I’m _ not _ sorry. Because I did what _ had _ to be done. Some of us take our jobs seriously. No matter the circumstances, _ we still do it _ .” Because someone _ has _to. Because it is necessary even when it isn’t pretty, or nice. “So no, I didn’t make the 'wrong call'. Remus was coming out sooner or later, just like everyone else.”

Patton stays quiet for a moment. “I still think it wasn’t the time. But you’re right in one thing. Remus was coming eventually, he’s part of Thomas after all.”

“And you certainly wish he—we weren’t.”

Patton drops his head. “I used to,” he admits in a small voice. “Remus can be so scary, and you can be really cruel sometimes. But, I can be controlling and dismissive of others. Even if I don’t realize it, that doesn’t make it right. I guess I'm just upset this whole thing ended up with all of us hurting in some way.”

Deceit huffs, head to the side, looking anywhere but at Patton.

“I know you did what you had to. I know it’s your job. I’m sorry there’s parts of it that are — not nice to deal with.” He reaches out once more. “But if you need to talk about it, or about anything, really— I guess what I’m saying is — I can try to listen. I want to understand.”

Deceit swallows. His words come out low. Raw. “I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”

The look Patton sends his way borders on pity. _ Pity._ He smiles sadly and his gaze falls on the table. “Okay.”

Deceit says nothing. He just takes another gulp of cocoa. It’s getting cold now. 

Patton leans back in his seat. “I’d like to stay, if that’s okay.”

“I don’t care about what you do.”

So they both stay. Patton keeps his word, he says nothing else. Deceit just finishes his cup then glares at the table. He hates Patton. Hates the way he just sits there in silence, suppressing yawns, trying to pretend like he’s not exhausted. He should be getting some damn rest after what Remus put them all though. Instead he’s just staring at Deceit like a disappointed parental figure. Judging him. What does he know, anyways? He’s part of the Lights, what does he know about anything Deceit has had to do to protect Thomas? He doesn’t understand. Never will. 

Stupid Morality. He is only here because he can’t be forced to leave. He can’t not care. It’s part of his job to always give a damn. Even when it doesn’t make sense, even when deep down he doesn’t want to, Morality cares. Despite everything. Foolish dummy.

The mug in front of him disappears and Deceit looks up. Patton replaces it with a full one within his reach. 

He sits in front of Deceit once more sipping on his own mug. 

After a while Deceit checks the time. 5 AM. _ And you need to go bed. _

He stands up. Patton glances from his mug. He opens his mouth as if wanting to say something then stops himself and fidgets with his fingers.

Damn it.

“I maybe, possibly, owe you... an apology, for what I said before, I—” Deceit says trying to force the truth out. “It was rude. I’m sorry.”

Patton gives him a soft smile. “It’s okay. We all deal with hurt in different ways. I’m sorry too, for dismissing you.” 

Deceit nods. “You can’t change me, you know that, right? I’m not gonna wake up one morning and be all chummy chummy with you, Lights. Deceit is my purpose. It’s who I am. And despite what you may think, I like my job.” Most of it anyways.

He makes his way past Patton, towards the stairs that lead to his room.

“I know,” says Patton, stopping Deceit in his tracks. “But maybe we could, try to understand each other a bit better from now on. Try to be better for Thomas, one step at a time. What do you think?”

After a pause, Deceit glances over his shoulder and simply raises his mug. “Thanks for the cocoa, Patton, it was... halfway decent.” 

**Author's Note:**

> I have this headcanon that the Sides all share one big Mindscape place instead of being divided between Core and Dark sides. Let them be one big messy family please and thank you.
> 
> Sorry for any mistakes, it's un-betaed and English isn't my first language. Let me know if you liked it? :)
> 
> Have a good one!


End file.
